This month’s pick for the Dystopian Novels Book Club. I’ve read it before, but so long ago that I’d forgotten most of the details. In it, a group of boys crash land on a deserted island and attempt to build a society with each person filling different roles. Throughout the course of the book, this all falls apart, descending into arguing, fighting, and eventually murder.
This reads like an allegory to me, with the boys’ actions recreating what was happening in the outside world. Ralph represents a politician, while Jack and his crew symbolise the military.
I think this book is one of the most pessimistic I’ve ever read. It presents human nature as selfish, greedy, and inherently evil. It’s an interesting contrast with Robinson Crusoe, which I read recently and takes almost the opposite path.